The life of a No. 1 pick in the NFL is one that requires a major adjustment and quick. For Joe Burrow, he will go from leading one of the best seasons in college football history to being under center for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Burrow threw 60 touchdowns in 2019 for the LSU Tigers on their way to a National Championship. Burrow will go from a 15-0 team to one that finished 2-14 and landed the first overall pick in the draft. The LSU product will look to have better fate at the next level than JaMarcus Russell, Matt Flynn, and Zach Mettenberger.

The natural question is, how many games can Burrow win this year? The answer is not many right away. The Bengals still have a lot of holes to fill. The Bengals schedule outside of division play is not that difficult so Burrow will win a few more games, but they are far from a playoff contender.

The Bengals' over/under for wins is over 5.5 and that is an appropriate number. Are there six wins on their schedule?

Can Burrow lead Cincy to six wins?

Article Continues Below
More Cincinnati Bengals News
image thumbnail
1 obvious Cincinnati Bengals trade candidate entering 2025 training campEnzo Flojo ·
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws a pass during practice, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at Kettering Health Practice Fields in Downtown Cincinnati.
Bengals land pivotal stadium agreementJackson Stone ·
Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow, who will star in Netflix's Quarterback Season 2, throwing a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Netflix’s Quarterback Season 2 trailer highlights Joe Burrow’s epic heroicsAndrew Korpan ·
One mystery player in the middle, Joe Burrow, Geno Stone around him, Cincinnati Bengals logo in the background
1 perfect Cincinnati Bengals move to fill out roster before 2025 training campEnzo Flojo ·
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) walks for the locker room after the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 11 game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. The Chargers won 34-27.
Bengals’ Joe Burrow takes L vs. 3 fans in QB Skills Challenge at Fanatics FestJaren Kawada ·
bengals, cincinnati bengals, bengals minicamp
3 hottest Cincinnati Bengals takes coming out of 2025 minicampGarrett Kerman ·

The Bengals open up in Week 1 at home against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. That is a winnable game right off the bat. Division play begins in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals are going to struggle in division given the competition in the AFC North. Maybe they can steal one against the Browns but there is not much hope elsewhere.

When looking at their schedule out of the division, there are a few games that stick out as losses. The Bengals will have a hard time on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, and Indianapolis Colts. Cincinnati hosts the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans. Those five games could result in losses and if we add in the division losses, that could put the Bengals at 10 already.

On the positive side, Cincy does have winnable games. They have to play the Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Redskins, New York Giants, and Miami Dolphins. These games could be big down the stretch when looking at draft position.

For the Bengals to hit their over, they would have to steal one game in the AFC North, beat every other poor team on their schedule, and steal one of the difficult games out of the division. This seems like a tall task for a rookie quarterback.

Burrow has a high ceiling and a ton of hype, but year one will be a struggle on an imperfect team.